Government pledges support to Julien family

By Mara Etienne-Manley

Prime Minster Hon. Roosevelt Skerrit on Tuesday, pledged Government’s support to the family of 82 year old Vernie Julien, affectionately known as ‘Auntie Vernie’, who died in a fire at her Roseau home on Monday night.

Ms Julien occupied the top floor of the family-owned Julien’s Jewelry Store on King George V Street, when the fire broke out at approximately 11 pm. The three-storied building was totally consumed by fire which also caused substantial damage to the upper floor of a neighbouring property owned by the Shillingford family.

Scene of fire on Great George V Street     Photographer Edward Philogene

The Honorable Prime Minister expressed his deepest sympathy to the Julien family for their loss and to the Shillingford family who has been greatly affected by Monday night’s tragedy.

Meanwhile, on the day following the fire, GIS News met up with Chief Fire Officer Josiah Dupuis, who commended the work of the fire officers. Mr Dupuis says the Fire Department lives up to its motto ‘Semper Paratus’, which is Latin for ‘Always Ready’.

Josiah Dupuis, Chief Fire Officer

“The motto of the Fire Department in Dominica is ‘Always Prepared’… ‘Semper Paratus’. What that says is at any time, we should be, we must be prepared for any incident…there’s no two ways about it. If you call the fire department, you must get a response within two rings. We pride ourselves on [that]…so I would say that we are as prepared as we can be, given the resources that are available to us.”

The Fire Chief says he is pleased with the job done by the fire officers dispatched to the scene of the fire on King George V Street.

“With regards to the fire last night, I really have to complement my officers for doing a fantastic job. Often times we work and people may not be able to really place a true value on what we do. Part of the reason may be because [they] are not familiar with this particular discipline…the difficulties, the challenges…and so are unable to appreciate the work that is being done. But in some cases people do appreciate what we do. Last night was an example of where the work of fire officers actually went directly into saving probably an entire block in Roseau.”

The cause of the fire is still unknown and investigations continue.